Double seamer



Jan 30, 1951 Filed Oct. 18, 1948 E. LAXO DOUBLE SEAMER 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. [0 [4x0 BY MMQW ATTOR/VEKF E. LAXO DOUBLE SEAMER Jan 30, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 18, 1948 INVENTOR. [014w E. LAXO DOUBLE SEAMER Jan. 30, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Oct. 18, 1948 INVENTOR. [a [4x0 W M W M N P m r 4 Patented Jan. 30, 1 951 DOUBLE SEAMER Ed Laxo, Oakland, Calif., assignor to Atlas Imperial Diesel Engine 00., Oakland, Calif., a corporation of Delaware Application October 18, 1948, Serial No. 55,130

This invention relates to a double seamer for forming seams to join together can ends and can bodies.

1 Claim. (Cl. 11323) Can end seamers generally in use today comprise a pair of spaced, rotatable turrets, one of which, usually the lower turret, is provided with chucks which rotate with the turret and also reciprocate to bring the can bodies and superimposed ends against the chucks of the upper turret. The upper turret is provided with two driven cams, one of which operates a first seaming roll and the other a second seaming roll. Such design requires a considerable amount of gearing for driving.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved form of double seamer for performing seaming operations on can ends.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a can end seamer which is operable to form the seams on can ends without employing a driven cam.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the ensuing description and the appended claim.

One form which the invention may assume is exemplified in the following description and illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the double seamer of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing the seaming cam in top-plan view, and also showing the followers and seaming rolls for performing the first and second seaming operations.

Fig. 3 is a view on a larger scale, partly in side elevation and partly in section, showing a seaming unit. 1

Fig. 4 is a section taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3, showing the means of adjusting the seamm rolls.

Fig. 5 is a top-plan view of the seaming unit of Fig. 3.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularlyto Fig. l, the double seainer is generally designated as l and it comprises a frame ll within which are disposeda gear train consisting of a bevel pinion [2, a bevel gear l3 and gears l4 and Hi, the bevel pinion I2 being secured to the main drive shaft 16 and the gear I being secured to a shaft H. The shaft I1 is journaled in bearings I8 and I9 which are housed in a stationaryl sleeve 2|], and it also ext ds downwardly below the sleeve 20 and through; 25. In -the lower part of the n x n 2 in Fig. 1, there is provided the usual lower turret 26 having reciprocating chucks 21. The shaft l1 operates the lower turret 26 and the reciprocating chucks 21 in known manner.

There is also shown an upper turret or seaming head 28, and the sleeve 25 is keyed at 29 to the hub 30 of upper turret 28. Chucks 3| of con-' ventional constructioin are carried by the turret 28, and each chuck is rotated relatively to the turret by means of a gear 32 engaging a gear 33 which is keyed at 34to the shaft H. The turret 28 is suspended by means of rollers riding in a circular groove 4| formed in the hub 42 of a stationary cam 43, which is described in more detail hereinafter. A can knockout mechanism of conventional design is also provided, including rollers 44 riding in a cam groove 45 formed in the hub 42, such rollers actuating knockout rods 46 which are urged upwardly by coil springs 41.

The seaming cam 43 is slidable on the sleeve 20 to vary its height and, correspondingly, the height of the upper turret 28, for the purpose of accommodating can bodies of different height. The cam 43 is adjustable by means of a rod 48 extending through the frame II and a lug 49 bolted to the cam. As shown, the rod 48 is secured to the frame I l by means of a set screw 50, and the cam 43 is clamped in adjusted positionby means of a clamping screw 5|.

The seaming cam 43 has a groove 55 formed therein near its periphery and on its underside. The groove 55 has an outer face 56 forming a first cam track and an inner face 51 forming a second cam track. As shown in Fig. 2, the first cam track 56 is provided with a low dwell 58, a high dwell 59 and shoulders 69 and 6|, and the inner or second cam track 5! is formed with a;

similar but angularly displaced low dwell 62, anda corresponding high dwell 63 and shoulders '64- and 65.

As shown in Fig. 3, the turret 28 is formed of units 66, each comprising a chuck 3| and first and second seaming rolls 61 and 68, respectively. The rolls 61 and 68 are of conventional design and function, the first roll serving to perform the first bending andinterlocking operation on the can end and can body end flange, and the second roll serving tofinish the seaming operation. The first seaming roll 6'! is rotatable in a crank 69, which is actuated by a crank shaft 10 rotatable in a housing 15. Similarly, the second seaming roll 68 is rotatable in a crank 16 which is actuated by a crank; shaft 11 rotatable in the housing 15. Crank shaft 10 is rotatable by a cam follower roller 19" and a lever or crank 80,

and the other crank shaft 1! is similarly rotatable by means of a cam follower roller 8| and lever or crank 82. The roller 79 is urged against the first cam track 56 by a coil spring 83, and the other roller 8| is urged against the second cam track 5'! by means of a coil spring 84. Set screws 83a and 84a are provided for adjusting the compression on springs 83 and 84.

Each crank shaft 70 or 1! and its associated seaming roll 67 or 68 is adjustable angularly by means of a threaded collar 85 keyed to the crank shaft at 86 and rotatable by means of a screw 8'! havin a square socket 88 adapted to engage a Wrench 89 (see Fig. 4).

In operation, can bodies 95 having can ends 90 disposed thereon at their upper ends are supplied to the double seamer manually or by any other suitable means. For example, the can bodies and ends may be fed to the double seamer by means of an end feed and body feed described in my copending application Serial No. 5,1 28,'1"iled October 18, 1943, entitled Can end feed mechanism. As the shaft I1 is caused to rotate, the lower turret 25 will, of course, rotate and its chucks 27 will reciprocate, so as to elevate a can body and end against an upper chuck 3 E. Meanwhile, the upper turret 28 is constantly rotating. and each chuck 3! is caused to rotate about its own axis. As indicated in Fig. 2, can bodies and can ends enter the double seamer at the position indicated as A and leave at the position indicated as B. It will be seen that, shortly after a can body and can end leave the position A, the first cam follower roller 79 will ride up the shoulder 60 onto the high dwell 59 of'the first or outer cam track 55. This will cause rotation of the crank shaft 10 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in: Fig. 5, thus bringing the first operation seaming roll 6! againstthe can body and can end, causing the first step inthe formation of an end seam. When the can body and can end reach the shoulder 61, the roller 80 will ride down the said ishoulder onto the low dwell 58. Shortly thereafter the second cam follower roller 8| will ride up the shoulder 641 onto the high dwell 53 of the second or inner cam track 51, thus causing rotation of the crank shaft 17 and the second operation seaming roll 68 in a counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 5. This will cause the second operation seaming roll 58 to move inwardly toward the can body and can end, thus performing the second and final seaming operation. Finally, when the can body and can endreach the shoulder 65 of the inner or first cam track 57, the roller 81 will-ride down the said shoulder onto low dwell 52, and the can body andrcan end will be ejected (bythe knockout rod 6) .-and removed by-any suitable mechanism: (not shown) at'the position B. v

It will thus be apparent that a can end double seamer has been provided which is capable of operation at very high speed and in which the first and second operation seaming rolls are actuated by the first and second, stationary cam track. Gearing intermediate the shaft l1 and the seaming rolls is eliminated, and the machine is further simplified by the provision of a sin le groove to provide two cam tracks. Also, provision is made for adjusting the angular position of the seaming rolls, and the means of adjusting the height of the upper turret is simplified.

While I have shown the preferred form of my invention, it is to be understood that various changes may be made in its construction by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In a double seamer the combination with a rotatable turret having a plurality of pairs of sue-1 cessively acting seaming rolls, and anactuating shaft, crank and cam'follower for each roll, all

of said followers being disposed in horizontalalignment, of a relatively stationary cam for successively actuating each roll of each pair, said cam having a singlecam groove within which all of said cam followers are located and moved upon relative rotation of the turret with respect to the cam, said groove being formed by parallel facing side walls inregistering horizontal alignment; said walls each defining a separate and distinct cam path and being spaced a distance apart greater than the width of the cam followers, whereby a follower in contact with one wall willbe out of contact with the opposite wall, and means continuously urging one follower of each pair in contact with one wall and means con-v tinuously urging the other follower of each pair in contact with the opposite wall.

" ED 'LAXO.

REFERENCES CIT-ED; The following references are ofrecord in-the file of this patent: UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,255,707 h Kronquest SeptI 1941 

